Instagram is among our first-thing-in-the-morning go-to apps, but its almost too simple interface has us wanting functions available on other social networks, chief among them: the repost (also known as a retweet, reblog, or share depending on your...

If you’re anything like me, you learned how to use programs like Photoshop and Gimp out of necessity to do minor changes to photos. You might have even dabbled in some easier graphic design projects for your own website, but it takes you hours to get the image or the design looking just right and you’re left exhausted. You might even spend time looking up tutorials on how to achieve a certain effect and still have trouble re-creating it.

In short, while you do know your way around the programs like Photoshop to a certain extent, it takes you forever and there’s absolutely no way you’d call yourself a graphic designer. But then, you’re surfing around the web and you noticed some really cool infographics on things like fashion, music and food and you can’t help but wish that you could create something like that; even if it’d take you a week....

If you’re anything like me, you learned how to use programs like Photoshop and Gimp out of necessity to do minor changes to photos. You might have even dabbled in some easier graphic design projects for your own website, but it takes you hours to get the image or the design looking just right and you’re left exhausted. You might even spend time looking up tutorials on how to achieve a certain effect and still have trouble re-creating it.

In short, while you do know your way around the programs like Photoshop to a certain extent, it takes you forever and there’s absolutely no way you’d call yourself a graphic designer. But then, you’re surfing around the web and you noticed some really cool infographics on things like fashion, music and food and you can’t help but wish that you could create something like that; even if it’d take you a week....

They used to say content is king. But what really makes up content? Gone are the days when “content” meant purely text. Today, if you want to engage and enchant your customers, your content must have some visual cues. The human brain processes visual information much quicker than text. And with web 2.0 visuals like infographics, you can convey complex, boring data in a meaningful manner. Although infographics make things simpler, it can be time-consuming to create them. Here is a list of my top 10 tools to create your own beautiful infographics and more visual content (no Photoshop required!).

Whether it's personal or organizational stories, the techniques to find and tell your story are similar. Read the full article to find out more about these 15 techniques to beef up your storytelling skills:

Know the changeOwn your messageBridge itDetails, details!Surprise!Travel across timeGet thyself a story buddyFind the lessonMake visual stepping stonesSet a low bar for yourself as you beginRemember, it’s a journeyFind 5 storiesPracticeListenSet your sights on your end line[bonus] Tell it before you write it
Via Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)

Michelle Gilstrap's insight:

Good insights for anyone who does Public Speaking for their business or for their company.

Twitter is looking to encourage more private discussions on its service. CEO Dick Costolo would like to have a "whisper mode" that allows users to take pub

There are frequently public conversations that you would like to grab hold of and take into whisper mode with a friend and say, hey, this thing has happened. Look what these people are talking about. What do you think about this, with a friend or more than one friend. So being able to move fluidly between that public conversation and the private conversation is something we’ll make simpler.

There are frequently public conversations that you would like to grab hold of and take into whisper mode with a friend and say, hey, this thing has happened. Look what these people are talking about. What do you think about this, with a friend or more than one friend. So being able to move fluidly between that public conversation and the private conversation is something we’ll make simpler.

Darius Douglass, you are so right - all you have to do is look at someone's digital footprint, it's all there for you to see beyond the facade - if someone is truly demonstrating not talking about social media, that's all you have to know

Jan, I agree with you I do try to comment on my social media sights with my followers when I have the time. That is the key, reading the content and finding the time to communicate. It is a hard balance.

Now that you know the rules for posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, lets discuss Instagram. Instagram is a visual social platform (with over 150 million active users), where users capture, customize, and share photos and videos with their followers. While some people think Instagram is nothing more than “selfies”, “what I ate for lunch”, and “look at this sunset through a cool filter”, it’s potential business reach is substantial. Here are 10 ways that you can optimize your Instagram business account.
Via Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com

Science World Report The FDA Calls Out Yet Another Food Chemical To Avoid: Acrylamide Forbes Yesterday the FDA released a Consumer Update suggesting that people try to reduce their consumption of a compound in found in well- and over-cooked foods,...

Creating your own images is also an excellent tactic for re-purposing text-only content into enticing images. Here are some examples: Turn quotes into an interesting slideshow, post an event announcement on a pretty picture, place stats onto eye-catching graphs, give a blog post title some pizzaz, create an infographic about the history of your biz, create a catchy, custom featured image for a video, etc. The possibilities are endless.

To help you create images that get BuzzFeed-worthy engagement, here are 13 of our favorite and easy-to-use visual content creation tools....

A picture speaks a thousand words - some good resources here for visual content and creation to add a visual dimension to your messages, which tend to perform much better for opens and clicks than text alone.

17 Must-Have Features on Your LinkedIn Profile (Infographic) Entrepreneur This infographic from Maximize Social Business lists 17 features your profile must have if you want to get the most out of LinkedIn.

Do you need an easy way to find new content to pin?Would you like to see pins from people other than those you follow?Finding good content to repin has always been crucial for Pinterest success. The solution is to follow interests on Pinterest.

In this article you'll discover how to find and use Pinterest interests to improve visibility and engagement.

Video is the future (or present) of content marketing, yet marketers seem to shun YouTube other than for viral videos. YouTube has a massive audience, it's ideal for branding purposes and it benefits your Google SEO. This guide shows you what content you should be curating, how to get a top ranking on YouTube and how to convert that following to your own platform.

“We don’t even know if anyone is listening, being alone isn’t a problemlet me just emphasise read a book, paint a picture, or do some exerciseyou’re being productive and present, not reserved and recluse”

Beyond detailing the adoption rates of mobile-friendly email, this infographic explains the difference between desktop-centric design, mobile-aware design, and responsive design—and the future outlook for each of them. It also includes links to examples of mobile-aware design from Amazon.com, Reiss, and Vizify, and examples of responsive design from AT&T,Toms, and Foursquare from the Email Swipe File on Pinterest.

seeing the importance of scoop it with this article , i think i can use this to show the importance of social sharing and emphasize how scoop it and other social media sites are important in then IMC process and how it has to be utilized in todays world (week 9)

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.